had been radiation blasted. A few feet
from the tank a mummified body lay sprawled out, mouth open. Beyond
the road was a flat field. Stones and weeds, and bits of broken glass.

"There," Hendricks said.

* * * * *

A stone well jutted up, sagging and broken. A few boards lay across
it. Most of the well had sunk into rubble. Hendricks walked unsteadily
toward it, Tasso beside him.

"Are you certain about this?" Tasso said. "This doesn't look like
anything."

"I'm sure." Hendricks sat down at the edge of the well, his teeth
locked. His breath came quickly. He wiped perspiration from his face.
"This was arranged so the senior command officer could get away. If
anything happened. If the bunker fell."

"That was you?"

"Yes."

"Where is the ship? Is it here?"

"We're standing on it." Hendricks ran his hands over the surface of
the well stones. "The eye-lock responds to me, not to anybody else.
It's my ship. Or it was supposed to be."

There was a sharp click. Presently they heard a low grating sound from
below them.

"Step back," Hendricks said. He and Tasso moved away from the well.

A section of the ground slid back. A metal frame pushed slowly up
through the ash, shoving bricks and weeds out of the way. The action
ceased, as the ship nosed into view.

"There it is," Hendricks said.

The ship was small. It rested quietly, suspended in its mesh frame,
like a blunt needle. A rain of ash sifted down into the dark cavity
from which the ship had been raised. Hendricks made his way over to
it. He mounted the mesh and unscrewed the hatch, pulling it back.
Inside the ship the control banks and the pressure seat were visible.

* * * * *

Tasso came and stood beside him, gazing into the ship. "I'm not
accustomed to rocket piloting," she said, after awhile.

Hendricks glanced at her. "I'll do the piloting."

"Will you? There's only one seat, Major. I can see it's built to carry
only a single person."

Hendricks' breathing changed. He studied the interior of the ship
intently. Tasso was right. There was only one seat. The ship was built
to carry only one person. "I see," he said slowly. "And the one person
is you."

She nodded.

"Of course."

"Why?"

"_You_ can't go. You might not live through the trip. You're injured.
You probably wouldn't get there."

"An interesting point. But you see, I know where the Moon Base is. And
you don't. You